MID-PRAIRIE BOYS BASKETBALL

Pickard's career night fuels Golden Hawks win at River Valley Shootout

By Paul D. Bowker
Posted 1/8/23

CEDAR RAPIDS

On a night when Mid-Prairie senior guard Camron Pickard scored a career-high 29 points, even double defenders couldn’t stop him.

Looking into the eyes of a pair of …

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MID-PRAIRIE BOYS BASKETBALL

Pickard's career night fuels Golden Hawks win at River Valley Shootout

Posted

CEDAR RAPIDS

On a night when Mid-Prairie senior guard Camron Pickard scored a career-high 29 points, even double defenders couldn’t stop him.

Looking into the eyes of a pair of Camanche defenders in the closing seconds of the third quarter during Saturday’s River Valley Shootout game at Kirkwood Community College’s Johnson Hall, Pickard drove between them for a basket and a 13-point Golden Hawks lead.

Pickard hit a 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter and drilled four free throws, but still the Golden Hawks had to hold off a fast-paced rally by Camanche in the final minutes to pull out a 57-55 victory.

“It could have gone a bit easier,” Mid-Prairie coach Daren Lambert said. “But Camanche is a good basketball team.”

The night belonged to Pickard, a backup guard on last year’s conference championship team who has emerged as a starter and team leader this season. His 29 points, 5 3-pointers, 5 assists and 3 steals were all game highs. He was the only player on either team to hit all his free throws, 6 for 6.

“He definitely controlled the game,” Lambert said. "He’s put in an extraordinary amount of time. When your best player is your hardest worker.”

Pickard scored 23 points in a game against West Branch in December. His 16.6 points-per-game average ranks fourth in the River Valley South.

Senior teammate Alex Bean added 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Senior center Shawn Dodds had 8 points and a team-high 6 rebounds.

A pair of free throws by Pickard with 2:20 remaining put the Golden Hawks in front by 10 points, 52-42. But Camanche (6-3) struck back quickly after that via hot shooting and a number of Mid-Prairie missed free throws.

A 3-pointer by Camanche’s Garrett Schultz cut the gap to 55-52 with 14 seconds left. After Mid-Prairie’s Brady Weber hit one of two free throws, Joshua Wiersema of Camanche hit a 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds to trim the Mid-Prairie lead to one, 56-55.

Weber hit another free throw with 2.3 seconds left and Camanche was unable to deliver a game-winning shot after that.

Damarion Honaker, a 6-foot-7 junior forward, led Camanche with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Mid-Prairie plays at Williamsburg on Monday night in a nonconference game.

For more Mid-Prairie coverage, pick up a Jan. 12 copy of The News.

Mid-Prairie, basketball, Camanche, River Valley, Camron Pickard